Published on 07 March 2014

Hamburg based producer Tensnake (aka Marco Niemerski) came to the attention of the international music scene in 2010 when ‘Coma Cat’ conquered dance floors pretty much everywhere. The much-loved musician is know for his upbeat disco-inspired house music, guaranteed to lift your spirits and get you moving.

Niemerski is getting set for his highly-anticipated debut album, Glow, to drop on Monday. Three years in the making it features the legendary Nile Rodgers, Jacques Lu Cont, MNEK, Jamie Lidell and Fiora. Needless to say both fans and industry alike are extremely excited for this one.

Ahead of the release, we caught up with the man himself to chat musical beginnings, crafting the album and why he’s no longer hungry for the power…

WHAT MADE YOU WANT TO BECOME A PRODUCER – WERE YOU ALWAYS INTERESTED IN MUSIC?

Yes, always – and I have my older brother to thank for a lot of that early music guidance! I started listening to the radio and recording shows on tape when I was really young. I grew up in the suburbs where there was nothing to do except listen to music so the radio was the most exciting thing around me. But my older brother was into D*Train, Shalamar and other boogie stuff. When I was 16, I would drive my Vespa and listen to stuff like The Who and The Small Faces – the UK sound. But then I came back to electronic music and ended up working in a dance promo company called Public Propaganda, where I worked on the first Daft Punk album. I started making music quite late – but after ‘Around the House’ came out on Mirau, I knew I was on to something.

WHAT WAS IT LIKE GROWING UP IN HAMBURG IN TERMS OF MUSIC?

My brother introduced me to other influences like freestyle, boogie, Italo-pop but as I grew up, I went through a Mod-period before finding more dancefloor-inspired influences like Larry Levan, Romanthony and Masters of Work. But even though I lived in Hamburg, I was always very inspired by what was going on in the UK.

YOUR MUSIC IS OFTEN QUITE UPBEAT – WHAT DO YOU ATTRIBUTE THIS TO?

I really feel like people have forgotten the art of songwriting, which is so important. ‘58BPM’ with Fiora surprised a few people when it was released but that was deliberate decision. I wanted to make a statement with the first single and to really surprise people. Back in 2006 and 2007, my music almost became a reaction to the minimal sound – after all, at the root of it, disco and boogie was about making people feel good. That’s very important to me.

IS THERE ANYONE THAT YOU LOOK UP TO IN MUSIC?

I definitely always looked up to Nile Rodgers’ production output in the 1980s – from David Bowie to Duran Duran to of course Diana Ross and Sister Sledge. When we spoke, I couldn’t believe he was so grounded. I sent him a message on Facebook, and didn’t really expect a reply, but he replied himself 20 minutes later and he said he knew my music. I sent him the music and he called me and said, ‘Would you mind if I was just your session musician on this track’ – which was amazing.

CAN YOU TELL US A BIT ABOUT YOUR DEBUT ALBUM? WILL IT BE IN KEEPING WITH WHAT WE KNOW OF YOU ALREADY OR ARE THERE SOME SURPRISES?

In short, it’s my definition of pop music. It has taken a while – almost three years – but I am very proud of it. It has disco touches, some r ‘n ‘b influences, several tracks with the incredible Fiora and of course Nile Rodgers on ‘Love Sublime’ and ‘Good Enough To Keep’. I am also super-proud of ‘Feel Of Love’, which I co-produced with Stuart Price with an amazing vocal from Jamie Lidell. But yes, there are some surprises also. Listen out for ‘No Colour’ which will have a video soon for example.

WHAT WAS THE CREATION PROCESS FOR THE ALBUM LIKE – DID THINGS COME TOGETHER EASILY?

It’s taken a while to make it but the collaborations came naturally. Working with Stuart in LA was one of the earliest points, and then came Fiora, MNEK, Jeremy Glenn on ‘Selfish’ and slowly I pieced it all together at my studio at home in Hamburg. ‘Pressure’ with Thabo – a co-write with MNEK – was the last track to make the LP!

THERE ARE MANY NOTABLE COLLABORATIONS ON THE ALBUM – HOW DID YOU GO ABOUT CHOOSING WHO TO WORK WITH?

It all happened very organically, from Stuart as co-producer on ‘Feel Of Love’ (who I first met at Bestival) and MNEK (who I worked with in East London) to Fiora, who was introduced by a mutual friend in Germany. I now need to start thinking about the second album!

DO YOU ENJOY PLAYING LIVE AND IF SO HAVE THERE BEEN ANY ESPECIALLY MEMORABLE PAST PERFORMANCES?

Ibiza is always great – We Love at Space, Pacha with Solomun and Fiora singing ‘See Right Through’ was incredible last summer – there are so many! The big one to come is The Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles with Chic and Giorgio Moroder in May, I will be warming up for almost 20,000 Chic fans in the sun. I cannot WAIT!

WHAT ARE YOU HUNGRY FOR?

In 2011, I would have been hungry for the power but by the time 2014 is over, I will be hungry for my bed!